Bucks Co. Grandmother, 73, Kills Cobra With Shovel

FALLS TOWNSHIP, PA — A 73-year-old great-grandmother in Falls Township took her safety into her own hands on Monday, using a shovel to kill a rare, venomous cobra in the yard of her apartment.

The incident happened at the same apartment complex where, in March, emergency crews removed more than 20 venomous snakes from a unit where they say the resident was planning to sell the dangerous reptiles.

Kathy Kehoe told 6ABC that it was blue jays squawking that alerted her that something wasn't right on the patio of her home at Aspen Hills Apartments.

"I opened the door. I said a bad word. 'It's a cobra.' I knew right away," Kehoe told the station.

Kehoe snapped some photos of the snake, which she said was probably 4 to 5 feet long.

Then, she told 6ABC, as the snake slithered into her yard, she grabbed a shovel and "did the deed."

"He went this way. I stalked him and when he got over to here, I tapped his tail. He went up and that's when I did the deed and held him there," she said.

In March, police and other safety officials in Falls removed more than 20 snakes, almost all of them venomous, from the complex. According to the Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad, 23 snakes were removed from the unit in Aspen Falls Apartments. Of those, 21 were venomous, the squad said.

A snake expert at the time said there were about 12 cobras, five rattlesnakes, two other species of snakes and two boa constrictors found. Police said the snakes weren't properly kept in cages and could have easily escaped, and that there were children living in the apartment.

The king cobra is a venomous snake species native to an area running from India to southeast Asia. It is the world's longest venomous snake and typically preys on other snakes, lizards and rodents. It has been listed as a vulnerable species in the wild since 2010.

To learn more about king cobras, watch this National Geographic special report: